The Office of Senator LumineVonReuental (A Farewell to the Senate)

[Cassius]

Endorsed of course. Loving the campaign logo

[Lumine]

Update X:
A Health Care triumph for Duke and the Senate!

June 27th, 2014:
In his first campaign stop for August, Senator Lumine has returned to his headquarters in Salt Lake City to deliver a speech on the recent triumph of the Duke administration on Health Care policy.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

I come back to my home state to start my reelection bid, as I plan to tour the entire country giving speeches of some of the issues the Senate is discussing. Just yesterday an achievement of great magnitude and importance for country was accomplished thanks to the Administration and several Senators, and I want to join the voice of those of us who praise this key development. After months of discussion and debate, the President, the Federalist Senators and Shua on behalf of the Democratic-Republicans have joined forces to finally pass a bill regarding health care reform to introduce a new system that will replace the bloated mess the had before, a bill that passed with six votes in the affirmative (with Senator Tyrion joining us) and most of Labor not even bothering to vote, thus passing the Reforming Atlasian Public Health Act and changing forever the landscape of the Health system in our country. Since my intervention in this was fairly minor, all credit naturally goes to President Duke, Senator Shua and Senator Yankee, with an honorary mention to Yankee for his hard work and for being the man who truly got this done and passed.

Thanks to this reform, we will finally be able to count with a system that is economically sound, responsible and effective, a system that upholds economic freedom with the necessary concern for the well-being of Atlasians by introducing free market elements and savings accounts plus the new CIEP system, all while ensuring proper coverage for our military veterans and those who live with high risk situations. A successful combination of human dignity with economic responsibility and efficiency born from compromise, this is of course not necessarily perfect and it will require further adjustments, as Yankee pointed out. And yet, I call this a true success in terms of policy, a show that Atlasia can and will continue to progress with hard work, a proof that single-payer is not the only solution to the health care problem. You may think I overreact, but this is an historic day, and I can't stress enough how happy I am that the Senate has passed his bill. As your At-Large Senator I plan to defend this act, and if possible, help to improve the parts that will require some work in the following months.

Thank you very much for your attention.

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Endorsed of course. Loving the campaign logo

Thank you, Cassius!

[Lumine]

After months of discussion and debate, the President, the Federalist Senators and Shua on behalf of the Democratic-Republicans have joined forces to finally pass a bill regarding health care reform to introduce a new system that will replace the bloated mess the had before, a bill that passed with six votes in the affirmative (with Senator Tyrion joining us) and most of Labor not even bothering to vote, thus passing the Reforming Atlasian Public Health Act and changing forever the landscape of the Health system in our country.

I don't like everything about the Duke-Yankee healthcare reform package, but both deserve our applause for developing a law that resolves many of the problems that I brought to the Senate's attention a couple of months ago. I am incredibly embarrassed that most of the Labor delegation missed this vote. And if I were completely opposed to these reforms, I would be even more upset.

It surprised me as well, I must say. I figured at least TNF would be very vocally opposed to it in light of his earlier push for single payer. I do appreciate Tyrion voting for it, it allowed for an outright majority and it made the result a believable compromise.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

After months of discussion and debate, the President, the Federalist Senators and Shua on behalf of the Democratic-Republicans have joined forces to finally pass a bill regarding health care reform to introduce a new system that will replace the bloated mess the had before, a bill that passed with six votes in the affirmative (with Senator Tyrion joining us) and most of Labor not even bothering to vote, thus passing the Reforming Atlasian Public Health Act and changing forever the landscape of the Health system in our country.

I don't like everything about the Duke-Yankee healthcare reform package, but both deserve our applause for developing a law that resolves many of the problems that I brought to the Senate's attention a couple of months ago. I am incredibly embarrassed that most of the Labor delegation missed this vote. And if I were completely opposed to these reforms, I would be even more upset.

I'm actually in shock that they didn't vote...

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I don't view the healthcare bill as perfect by any means, and I know little about healthcare law in general. I had come out in support of a Singapore-style system, but it became apparent to me that molding that to fit Atlasia was going to be a challenge, especially given it asks for people to pay for their healthcare.

What was apparent was, something needed to be done. We knew a problem existed and we have known that for months, and I'm not one to kick the can down the road for someone else to deal with it. I would've liked for input from everyone, but alas, I don't always get what I want, especially these days.

[bore]

The vote itself, due to the speed of voting, was open for less than a day, which should be considered.

For my part, though I was probably online at some point I was tossing up my vote in my head. On the one hand I have a very deep conviction that healthcare should be free at the point of use and that market systems in it are at best inefficient and at worst immoral, but I also understood that our current healthcare system, from an in game point of view was an unclear disgrace, and this bill did make it simpler and easier to understand.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The vote itself, due to the speed of voting, was open for less than a day, which should be considered.

For my part, though I was probably online at some point I was tossing up my vote in my head. On the one hand I have a very deep conviction that healthcare should be free at the point of use and that market systems in it are at best inefficient and at worst immoral, but I also understood that our current healthcare system, from an in game point of view was an unclear disgrace, and this bill did make it simpler and easier to understand.

Yes, considering the circumstances, I can't blame anyone for not voting on it in time.  The only surprise for me was that we were able to get a final vote on it so soon after introducing the replacement text.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Not only did no one object, but the bill sat for 24 hours after shua responded to Superiques question so that was almost two days where no opposiiton was expressed at all, and it shocked me as well.

The vote itself, due to the speed of voting, was open for less than a day, which should be considered.

For my part, though I was probably online at some point I was tossing up my vote in my head. On the one hand I have a very deep conviction that healthcare should be free at the point of use and that market systems in it are at best inefficient and at worst immoral, but I also understood that our current healthcare system, from an in game point of view was an unclear disgrace, and this bill did make it simpler and easier to understand.

There are various ways that a region can go about having free at the point of use healthcare even within this system, its just a matter of covering the unsubsidized portion of the cost. Perhaps one of the regions will try that.

[Lumine]

Update XI:
The Order of the Star and a farewell to Duke:

July 2nd, 2014:
Shortly after the President's announcement on the Order of the Star of Atlasia awards, Senator Lumine delivered a speech thanking the administration for both the award and their efforts for the past months, giving his best wishes to President Duke once he leaves office.

Good night, ladies and gentlemen.

As I checked the threads in Atlasia a couple of hours ago, I discovered to my complete surprise that President Duke decided to use his prerogative regarding the Order of the Star of Atlasia once again to reward a few select citizens that the White House believes to have been individuals who have made major contributions to Atlasia. The ranks of this Order in (Silver and Gold degrees) have such capable and famous Atlasians like SoFE Homelycooking, Senator North Carolina Yankee, Former Senator Clarence, RG Fritz, Former Emperor PiT and the the President himself, and I had the honor of being awarded with the Order of the Silver Star along with Senator Shua for our efforts regarding Health Care and the bill the Senate passed recently. Of course, I stand by my earlier words of Senator Yankee and Senator Shua as those who deserve most of the credit for their own hard work, consistency and efforts, but nonetheless I thank the administration for his honor, and I shall happily join the ranks of the Silver Star along with the hardworking Pacific Council and Former President Nix.

President Duke will leave the White House on Friday and welcome the next administration into office. It's said that time passes quickly in Atlasia, and that is certainly true in this case. Eight months that are now gone, and the October election seems both far away and very close. I had the opportunity of running against Duke as a Presidential candidate and I almost got to fight him in the final round, and yet, despite that campaign, I could never consider Duke as a rival, but as a man who was both respectful and deserving of respect. I had my disagreements with the administration in some issues, that's true, but I was sincerely happy to work with the President when I could while being in the Progressive Union, the People's Party and more recently the Federalist Party, as a Senator and as a politician in general. This administration has seen major and efficient changes to domestic policy, some very remarkable cabinet officers (like SoEA Superique and VP Cincinnatus), and a brave push for game reform that was sadly unfinished. Duke entered the White House with honor, he served with honor, and he will leave with honor, and he will join the ranks of our former Presidents ranked very highly, just like his predecessor. It's an early farewell considering the administration has two days left and we can never tell what's in store for the future, but this seemed like a good moment, and let's face it,  friends or foes, from the left or the right, Duke deserves a warm goodbye from all of us.

Thank you very much for your attention.

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Update XII:
A New Administration and New Efforts:

July 19th, 2014:
Right after returning from a vacation, Senator Lumine talked about the future of Atlasia and his plans for the remaining month until the August At-Large Senate Election, including the Federalist Primary and his praise for the performance of Vice-President Windjammer.

Well, I’m back!

After one spends day after day in Atlasia it’s easy to lose perspective, and so I have to tell you that there are few things more invigorating (in regards to the game) than taking a small break to relax, think and meditate about the future. The past months have consisted in running three campaigns for Senate, serving as a Senator and working in some media efforts, and with the future getting more and more interesting as we speak I think maintaining these efforts will not be a problem. I do have to solve an issue regarding the potential conflict of interest in being a Senator and running the Political Tracker, but there’s more than enough time to think about that and make a potential choice.

As of now the next administration has gone on for two to three weeks, and after six months of the Duke Presidency I find myself in a situation in which I am bound to engage in quite a few disagreements with the administration. Trying not to seem to ambitious or too vindictive, I really enjoy this chance to speak up my mind and defend my beliefs while working in the Senate and in my reelection campaign for August, now that we have a month left until the election and a primary set for my party between Former Senator Clarence and Former Assemblyman JCL, both of them good friends of mine. So, moving onto the point, I will resume my efforts to help Ukraine and develop our foreign policy again (especially in regards to a potential War Powers Act), and since Senator TNF has been kind enough to launch once again a swirl of attacks against our economic system, I will be happy to defend our successful free market system as well. I am terribly disappointed at President DemPGH’s apparent lack of interest in foreign affairs and his veto of my effort to get rid of the unnecessary and unpractical regulations set by an earlier Senate session, but at the same time I believe congratulations should be delivered to Vice-President Windjammer for his hard and efficient work at the Senate, and for proving all of us that he is a man of integrity and capable of objectivity. I sincerely thank him for taking a stand and voting for Senator Yankee to continue as our PPT (even if the Supreme Court has put a temporary halt to that), and I offer him my full support in both the lawsuits he is facing right now.

Sad as I am in regards to the current situation of the Pacific and the departure of Flo to the IDS, I remain convinced that the region can indeed be saved, and I hope the Pacific Council will find a new member soon enough to resume its work for the region. I do not believe a Pacific-Midwest merge is the sole and magical solution of this, but I do wish both Governors good luck in their efforts to increase activity. As a former Governor I know that it can be hard, but past examples show that it can be done. Thus, I plan to spend the next weeks up to the election taking a couple of trips to Ukraine, Japan and Palestine to put an emphasis on some policies I’d like to put before the Senate, delivering a few speeches from across our nation and resuming my work to create the new War Powers Act and hopefully start some efforts in Education, the Environment and a small project I’ve been thinking of to address the Abortion issue without causing a storm of controversy as earlier efforts have faced.

I guess that’s all for now, time to get to work!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Press release on the Ukrainian Tragedy:

July 21st, 2014:

Good night, ladies and gentlemen.

For the past six months we have seen a rather complicated situation evolving in Ukraine, a complicated period of time that brought the fall of a pro-Russian government in a revolution brought by the citizens of Ukraine and its replacement for a temporary government that sought to correct some pasts mistakes while helping the country move forward. Vladimir Putin showed us once again his style of leadership by committing open acts of aggression against Ukraine and forcing the virtual annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation, violating previous agreements and the very own territorial integrity and sovereignity of its neighbor, all while also supporting a rebel movement in Donetsk that led to something that we could very well describe as similar to a civil war. President Poroshenko and the Ukrainian government have led the fight against these rebels and while some Atlasians have tried to help them, like Vice-President Windjammer and Senator Alfred, apathy has been the reaction that we have seen lately across the nation. Sadly, yesterday we were reminded of the consecuences this war we have chosen to ignore can bring to us. A commercial plane was shot down, killing more than 300 people, including some of our citizens, and my prayers are with them and with their families and friends for this horrible tragedy.

Not for one second I buy the version of President Putin regarding this to be the action of the Ukrainian military, and as a Senator and a private citizen I believe this is the action of the pro-Russian separatists. Unlike what some people in Atlasia would like to think, I am not here to advocate for war. But I do want to advocate for action, I want to ask the Senate to pass the aid package to Ukraine as soon as possible, and I want to ask the SoEA and the President to act on this issue, as they have the tools to do so in a more effective way than the Senate itself. Atlasians died yesterday, and I don't think it's far to say Ukraine is not something that we should care about. We need to act, we need to support Ukraine in this issue and show Vladimir Putin that Atlasia will not ignore what's going on and allow him to do as he pleases in Eastern Europe.

Lumine.

[Lumine]

Update XIII:
War Powers Act and more strange Senate Bills:

July 29th, 2014:
With August looking very exciting with two Senate elections, Senator Lumine introduced four pieces of legislation today hoping to spark some discussing into a couple of neglected issues, all while campaigning for his reelection in the election that comes three weeks from now. The announcement was made in a campaign stop in Seattle in the Pacific Region, related to an earlier tour of the region by the Senator.

Good day, my fellow Atlasians!

It's a real pleasure to be back in the Pacific Region, campaigning in the three weeks left until the people of Atlasia go to the polls to elect a new Senate. Most of the attention will now go to the Special Election, I know, but we need more active races and if we can have two active ones instead of one I'll be happy to contribute to that. Senators Shua, Griffin and Goldwater have already announced their retirements from the Senate, and I can speak for many when I say that, regardless of the ideology one believes in, they will be missed for what they brought to the Senate and for their performances during the months. With only Alfred and me as the remaining incumbents seeking reelection we are bound to have a very different Senate next month (with four new members out of ten), and I look forward to working with the new Senators as well. Now, there's a few issues that I wish to discuss with you tonight, and one of them is the passage of two pieces of legislation that I'm particularly proud of: First comes the Duke-Scott Educating the People Reform, which will improve the quality and the tools of our Education thanks to the hard work of the Former President and the IDS Emperor, who deserve praise for their efforts and their push to get this bill passed. Then comes my Ukrainian Technical, Economical and Military Aid Act, which is close to becoming law after a long debate. I finally managed to keep with promise in regards to helping Ukraine and President Poroshenko, and I'm proud that we will finally intervene in a measured way in a key foreign issue that deserves our attention.

I know that many of you believe I'm going full-hawk after these months in the Senate, but I do have some sort of justification. I've always loved foreign affairs, but being an Assemblyman, Archduke and Governor means that foreign issues cannot be discussed and have to be replaced by domestic ones. You will have to imagine my joy when I finally managed to talk about the world, and given the reaction I've seen so far (both positive and negative), I am very encouraged to continue to work in this front. Because of that, and since the Senate is about to run out of bills, I decided to imitate the example of TNF (who regardless of our disagreements is a very prolific legislator) and send four bills to the Senate to debate them hopefully during August. First comes my promised reform of the war mechanisms of the nation, which includes the War Powers Amendment and the Repeal of War Powers Resolution Act. I encourage Atlasians to follow the debate in the Senate, but long story short, the first one creates two mechanisms for war, a Declaration of War for significant armed conflict and a Resolution of Force in cases like the proposed intervention against ISIS. Drawing a few elements from the OTL proposed War Powers Consultation Act of 2009, this regulates the process and it involves the President, SoEA and the Senate for better coordination, responsibility and transparency. Of course, the second one will repeal the current War Powers Act to avoid ambiguity on this front. Then comes a rather simplistic and not so serious effort of mine, the State of the Union Amendment, which seeks to get the President of Atlasia more involved with events across the nation by making the State of the Union address mandatory. It's an idea I had the other day and I wanted to at least discuss it, it might be good or bad, but I feel it's worth the effort.

Finally, I decided to get out of the box for a moment and stop taking about foreign affairs so much (although I will be taking a foreign trip this week to visit some countries) and address an issue that I find very important. Like many of you know, I am one of the few politicians in Atlasia to hold a pro-life position in the issue of abortion (like Senator DC or Assemblymen JCL and Cassius), which I've held ever since I came here. I understand most of Atlasia is pro-choice, and I do not wish to repeat the old debate that will lead us nowhere, so I recalled a bill my friend Cris introduced before the Althing when I was Governor, a bill that sought to reduce abortions by encouraging adoptions and at the same time protecting the right to the child to know about his origins. I have made a few modifications to that bill and I've introduced it before the name with the name Adoption is an Alternative Act, the second in a series of proposals I've had for domestic policy ever since I ran for the Midwest regional Senate seat. These four proposals mean that so far I have introduced eleven bills before the Senate since I took office, and while the number is low and some of them have not passed, it is certainly better than my earlier attempts at law making, so I am rather pleased to see progress of my behalf on that front.

Well, I don't know what else to say. Thanks for paying attention!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Update XIV:
Mideast Tour:

August 7th, 2014:
As the At-Large election gains steam, Senator Lumine is currently participating with the other candidates in the debate while he is also taking tours for the upcoming primary and general election. After touring the Pacific in the past weeks, the Senator is now taking a tour of his first region, the Mideast, where he hopes to gain the support of the large population (including many Federalists) living there.

Good night, my fellow Atlasians!

With the election now being contested by many competitive candidates it is imperative for all of us to get out there and talk to out constituents. In my case, and as an At-Large Senator I am bound to represent Atlasians from all regions, which is why I have returned to the region in which I lived my first months in this nation. The Mideast is the place in where I served as Mideast Assemblyman and here was where I managed to win my first election in an upset as an independent, so you will understand if touring these states makes me a bit nostalgic. It's been a long road for me since I joined the game in December 2012, and after countless elections one is bound to had a good amount of success and a long list of mistakes as well. All in all, I think that most of my time here has been rather positive and despite having trouble with a couple of issues I think I have been able to accomplish quite a lot. As time goes by I feel more and more comfortable in the Federalist Party, and with the upcoming primary I wish to take the time to appeal to the members of our party to go out there in full force to support our future candidates for Senate. We have two seats to hold, and I am confident that we will replicate our success in April! The polls are indeed encouraging for the primary, but I know that taking votes for granted is the best way to failure in politics, which is why I am asking for your support once again.

I'll be frank with you, I had my share of failures recently over Iraq and the recent controversy with Vice-President Windjammer. Needless to say, there seems to be a conflict between my role as a Senator and my other role as the Director of the Political Tracker, and since I don't want to jeopardize my political life by having such a conflict, I am currently taking a decision on the matter, which I should announce very soon. Leaving that aside, I wish to ask for all Atlasians to follow the current debate (and the campaign as a whole) and comment on it, this is truly a perfect opportunity for all candidates to discuss the issues and show the differences that we have among ourselves. I wish to have another term on the Senate because I feel the efforts in foreign policy have to be consolidated and expanded, because we need more voices advocating for us to have a clear role in the world (like Clarence, or Alfred, and so forth), more voices addressing important issues like the environment or the debate on a bicameral parliament) more voices that will stand up against proposals to introduce guillotines throughout this nation and will oppose ideas like the proposed legalization of cocaine and heroin or policies that could be dangerous for our economy or the stability of Atlasia itself. After ten years we have a country that has several challenges to meet, and now more than ever we need to have a good grasp on what's really going on right now to both progress and maintain current progress.

I am pleased with most of the candidates we have running for Senate right now, and I don't doubt for a moment that most of them would make great Senators. All of them bring something to the table, and I feel that the voters have a challenge themselves in this election, the challenge of asking questions, of reading the platforms of the speeches, of carefully consdering each candidate and what's best for the Senate and for Atlasia itself. Hopefully I will be able to be one of the two Federalists nominated for the general election and then secure another term, but in the meantime, it's time to speak and debate, it's time to tour the nation, this is the time to campaign!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[rpryor03]

endorsed

[Maxwell]

You will be getting preference #2.

[Lumine]

You will be getting preference #2.

Thanks, Maxwell!

endorsed

Thank you very much, Representative!

[Lumine]

Update XV:
Southern Tour:

August 9th, 2014:
After the recent controversy over the Political Tracker and after a very unexpected day, the Senator has now moved to the South for a brief tour, to be followed by the Midwest, Northeast and a couple foreign trips before the Primary and the General Election. He delivered a speech commenting on recent events on Iraq, the Senate Debate and the Tracker controversy.

Good day, my fellow Atlasians!

As I start my tour of the South I must say that yesterday I faced a rather interesting day. After the recent controversy I felt it was the time to take a break and save the credibility of the Tracker by closing it, since I believe that the issue that we really needed to discuss was the one regarding the Constitution and the powers of the Vice-President, instead of the usual personality fight. So far I have received many messages in support and I’ve seen many other posts in support of the Tracker, and I can’t really state how pleased and how thankful I am for this support. I am glad that the Tracker served the purpose it was set to achieve, and I believe it will indeed return very soon. Certainly not today or in the following days, but I can state with some confidence that the Tracker may indeed return after we can leave this current crisis behind. As I continue to campaign for the Federalist Primary and the General Election I feel more and more encouraged by events like these (even when they bring negative consequences at times), and so I am energized and ready to fight and win this election and continue the work I’ve been doing in Atlasia.

And so, I can’t miss the opportunity to comment on the recent events regarding the proposed change in rules for the Senate, the announced military strikes against ISIS on Iraq, and the recent confusion that seems to be taking over some elements of the administration. First things first, we have a major constitutional issue ahead of ourselves to solve and we also have a challenge regarding the current Senate rules, which many agree are perhaps too complex and too amended over the years. Secretary Nix has introduced a new set of rules before the Senate which should be up for discussion very soon, and while it’s necessary to debate and add what may be missing, I can confidently say that I stand behind this reforms and I plan to support them. These reforms make the rules simpler and more uniform (like reducing the voting time) and they introduce a new figure: the Speaker, to replace the current roles of the VP and the PPT, which are currently rather mixed up. Needless to say, I welcome this change and I plan to vote for it. Now, moving onto Iraq, I must deliver once again my congratulations to Secretary Nix, Special Envoy Riley and all other Atlasians involved in this bold and effective action, which I am confident will help improve the complicated situation on Iraq. Thus, I am rather pleased to see this step on the right direction.

However, I must point out that the administration seems to be having problems with it, which I find surprising. Yesterday we saw a rather public conflict within the Department of External Affairs, and since the President himself took the time on another thread to state that I was not a very straight-forward man (once again, to put it mildly), I am currently taking his kind advice working in order to freely talk about what I think it’s wrong in Atlasia. And I'll say this: I find it incredibly disappointing to see the Secretary and the Special Envoy being held back on current and future efforts by the President. For all that talk of my accusation of not caring about foreign affairs being false, you can clearly see the President’s unwillingness to take any further steps regarding the Middle East and his stated opposition to most if not all efforts that have been attempted lately. We have a great cabinet, so it pains to see the government having such evident problems to coordinate its efforts in a proper way. Now, I don’t want this to turn into another boring, long and bitter speech, so I might as well stop now. I will continue my Southern Tour over the weekend, so hopefully I will be able to release a good amount of speeches and activities for my campaign. I’m not sure if I’ll use videos once again as I did in January-February, but that’s not out of the question yet.

Thank you very much for your attention, and don't forget to watch the debate!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Simfan34]

Endorsed, as always.

[Lumine]

Endorsed, as always.

Thanks a lot, Simfan!

[Lumine]

Update XVI:
Midwest Tour:

August 13th, 2014:
With little more than a week until the election and two days until the Federalist Primary, Senator Lumine has returned to the region in which he spent more time in Atlasia: the Midwest, where was Governor once. After taking a tour of the Depositaren and touring his past home state of Montana, the Senator took the time to address some recent issues affecting the Senate and the campaign as well.

Great to be back in the Midwest!

Almost three months have passed since I left the region in order to pursue new challenges in the Pacific, and I can certainly say I still miss parts of the Most Serene Republic. It saddens me to see the region going through a period of inactivity that reminds me of some moments of the past year, but I can confidently say that both Adam Fitzgerald and Cris are doing a good job to put the Midwest on track, and so I wish them the best of luck in their respective positions. I have lived in three regions as of now, and all three of them have taught me important lessons and they have also rewarded me with a good amount of events and experiences that are hard to forget. Just now there's a proposal in the Pacific Council to name several counties after great people of the region, and I found to my surprise that Salt Lake County has a change to become Lumine County. I'm not sure if I have really done enough for the region in such a short time, but nonetheless I thank Governor Cranberry for including me in his proposal, it is a true honor for me.

Now, moving into policy and politics in general, it seems we are now facing a trend that has become quite visible in light of recent legislation. As a fantasy game Atlasia can allow itself to have more idealistic, bizarre or unpractical legislation from time to time, and after my time in the Midwest I realized that there's no dispute to that. And yet it seems we are forgetting more and more about what's truly possible and what isn't, and as a result of that I fear Atlasia is going to face major problems thank to certain policies. I saw a recent post of Oakvale in the Public Fuel and Power Act which caught my attention, because I believe he is right in many aspects. The past months have seen some Senators proposing more and more radical changes to the economy, including nationalization, incredible amounts of regulations and more and more benefits to an unsustainable level. When one sees legislation like this each day one tends to lose perspective on it, but Oakvale is right, we are approaching danger levels in many areas just for the sake of idealism. Or worse, because some people indeed refuse to accept that the Berlin Wall fell and that capitalism and the free market won the war (as I talked about when I was publicly attacked by a Senator for my stance on Ukraine a couple of months ago). I have voted against many of these proposals, and I plan to oppose them more openly as well in the future, specially since these days it seems like the more radical members of Labor are in actual control of the agenda (which seems such a shame when you have many moderate Labor officeholders doing a good job).

And speaking of radical Labor, it seems we have indeed a new President Pro Tempore of the Senate. It's no secret that I would prefer Yankee a thousand times as PPT and it saddens me to see him gone from a position in where he was efficient, capable and neutral. As it stands the current PPT is only bound to last until the first week of September (and then we will see the composition of the next Senate), and yet I am extremely worried even after only one day. PPT TNF is an active Senator, that much can't be denied, and I appreciate the amount of effort he puts in his work, but after fighting him on a permanent basis since January (and after standing months of being called a fascist among other things) I don't believe he is the PPT the Senate needs by any measure. He has absolutely no authority to come in and dictate his terms on the salary of the Senators, the unions that work there, the people we can and can't celebrate (Martin Luther King and others I can understand, but for god's sake we're talking about busts of Lenin, Robespierre, Trotsky, and other murderers) and the drugs that are allowed on the Senate. On a purely personal title (since I don't know how most of my fellow colleagues feel about it), I do not recognize the legality of these so called "Senate Directives" and I won't feel bound by them in any way. He and others won't care, of course, but that doesn't mean I will ignore that the President Pro Tempore of the Senate is trying to force his ideology on the Senate nor will I ignore that the hammer and sickle has become the new symbol of this "new leadership". And of course, if reelected, I will continue that fight and I will stand for my belief that the fall of the Berlin Wall is something that can't be ignored, not now and not in the future.

Thank you very much for your attention!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Press release on the Pacific:

August 14th, 2014:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

I seems this is a rather curious day for the Pacific, as right now we have faced another change in officeholders. Governor Cranberry has appointed himself to the Pacific Senate Seat, thus leaving the Governorship of the Pacific open and the race to be fought with write-in preferences. As much as it saddens me to see yet another figure of the region leaving regional politics to go to Nyman in the middle of such a complicated period, I believe Governor Cranberry was an excellent Governor during his term, and I personally found him to be both active and reasonable, so it is great to see him on the Senate and to consider him a formal colleague despite the differences in parties. And now, with the Governorship open and Former GM Simfan running for the position via write-ins I give him my formal endorsement and I'd like to encourage all Pacific citizens to vote for him to be our next Governor. I am certainly confident that he will be able to do a good job, and I also hope that our current Federalist council will be reelected in this election. The Pacific faces many challenges after so many changes in leadership and many key people who have left the region, but we have many new and capable faces as well and I believe they will be able to help our region reach good levels of activity. Best of luck to the next Governor and the next Council, and I hope they will be able to do a great job!

Lumine.

[Lumine]

Federalist Primary!

August 18th, 2014:

We only have four days until the general election and the Federalist primary is almost over, so I wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all Federalists to show up and vote in the Convention. Regardless of whom you back over the current three candidates it's very important for the party to vote and thus enhance the democratic nature of this election and by extension our political system. I have been on the Federalist Party since May, and while it hasn't been as much as it could have been I have really enjoyed my time in the party and I have done my best to work hard for it. As of now i have several bills up for discussion on the Senate (one regarding abortion/adoption and two others related to my proposed reform of the war powers), so I can certainly say there's a lot of work to be done and I wish to continue doing that work. To the primary we go, and then to the general election!

Lumine.

[Lumine]

A Few Thoughts:

August 19th:

It seems that once again we are facing a very controversial and divisive situation, and during the harsh debates we've had since yesterday some very serious allegations have been raised against me and my Senate colleagues from several supporters of the administration. Some of my friends have advised to stay silent and others to defend myself, and in the end I have decided to provide a few answers and clear some points according to what I think. I believe the first thing I have to clear up is that I am no machiavellian chess master nor am I  the sole person responsible for this affair. I'm both flattered and annoyed that some think I am, but to believe that I can fully control the actions of five Senators is to insult Goldwater, Yankee, Cassius and Spiral and their own independence as officeholders and Atlasians. I have no idea what led people to place the whole blame for this affair upon my shoulders beyond the fact that I decided to explain my views and the motivations behind my actions on the Confirmation thread instead of remaining silent, but to think I hold such a high level of control over so many people across Atlasia is beyond ridiculous. I accept my share of responsibility for both my vote and my words and I will stand for them until the end, but I will not accept more blame than what I deserve for the sake of the political narrative TNF and others have crafted on the most recent thread with my name on it.

Some have made their criticism known in a very civil way (for which I am thankful) and others have already chosen to portray me as the villain trying to ruin the fun for all, and they can very well consider me a horrible person (or Senator) if they desire. That said, I believe it's wise to contest some of the harsh accusations I have received instead of pretending that there hasn't been a major fight over the last day. For example, Talleyrand was rather explicit in stating that I didn't care about campaign promises and such and that my treatment of The People's Party was harsh and disloyal, a view that others have shared. I take full responsibility for that. What I did to that party was obviously a terrible thing to do, and the support I have received from many members of the party over the past events have only increased my shame at my own failure to choose and deal with that situation in a proper way. Beyond asking for the forgiveness of them for those actions there's little more I can do at this point.

Nonetheless, I should point out that if changing parties makes one unable to complain about some of these issues then a substantial part of Atlasia is guilty of that as well, with the President himself heading the list after leaving and rejoining Labor several times over the past months. For all the talk of dishonesty in officeholders that I have seen so far (with several of those comments directed at me) and the concept of promising something only to forget about it one only needs to see the administration's confused and changing stance on Iraq (as an example) to see that I'm hardly the single and perfect culprit from this sort of behavior, regardless of whether some people have already decided what I am or how they wish to portray my actions (like Griffin, who so nicely implied that I staged some sort of character assassination on the Former Vice-President). I will not contest I am probably not the indicated person to “lead the charge” or take the stand I am taking because I have my good share of mistakes and failures, but for all the talk of ModerateVonHero it was about time I started taking more strong stands, and right now, I believe this stand is necessary.

It disappoints me that Atlasians like Griffin or TNF are somehow allowed to say what they want and act how they please with bitter rhetoric, assaults against all other parties, attempts to install guillotines, undermine the seriousness of Senate, the use of implied threats and so forth. It disappoints me because whenever someone decides to fight back in any way they and others are quick to launch all-out assaults to shame said person, often with bitter attacks (and I should know, I have a good number of threads with my name on them and god knows how many nicknames at this point). I got tired of that when I was in the Progressive Union and many of us were forced to stand that for a long time, I got even more tired of that during the Midwest Senate race and by now I am a bit fed up with that attitude, especially when some can talk about Labor playing the game in a less nicer way to be successful (“win at all costs?”) and right after that go after me and my colleagues and charge us with partisanship, bitterness and being "undemocratic".

While the attacks and the discussion might last a long time, I have myself decided to stand firm, even if it costs me what little reputation I have left after the recent events. There's an election in a couple of days, and that will be a great way of learning about how the voters feel about this.

Thank you very much.

Lumine.

[TNF]

tl;dr